Improvement in accordions



UNITED STATES PATENT GEEICE.

ERNST PBIES, OF NE'V YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN ACCORDIONS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 43,226, dated June 21, 1864.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ERNST PErEs, ot the city, county, and State of New York, haveinvented a new and Improved Orchestreon; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specication, in which- Figure l represents a front elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view of the same.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of reed instruments known by the name ot aecordioni The invention consists in the employment or use, in combination with a portable bellows operated by the hands, of reeds and keyboards, which represent two or more chromatic scales, in such a manner that a light and portable instrument is produced, which can be used for playin g or accompanying tunes in any key, the same as a piano-forte or melodeon.

Accordions of the ordinary construction are provided with reeds and keys which represent the scale or scales and accords ot' one certain key-for instance, that ot' g or of cand they can be used only for such pieces written in those keys; but it is impossible to use them for the purpose of accompanying an orchestra playing a piece written in any other key but that represented by the keys of the instrument. This difticulty I have obviated by my instrument, which is provided with two key-boards, A B, each provided with a series of keys, (l C D D', representing` two or more chromatic scales, and arranged iu a similar manner to those of a piano-forte or melodeon. The white 4keys represent the ordinary tunes and the black keys the sharps and Hats, and each key connects with a reed corresponding to the tune marked ou il.. For instance, the lowest tune of the key-board A and of the whole'instrument may represent the g on the lowest line with the F clef, and thence the tunes run upon said keyboard through one octave, and a second set of keys, C', represent the following octave. These keys form a continuation ot' the rst keys, being separated from them by a small gap or groove, n, so that the player can readily distinguish between the two octaves. On the opposite key-board, B, the first key represents g, being the octave of the last key ofthe key-board A, and thence the chromatic scales are continued, as marked on said keys, through an octave by the keys D, and through one octave and a halt' by the keys Df. On both key-boards the sharps or ats are represented by the black keys, pre eisely in the same manner as on amelodeon or piano-forte, and the player is enabled to play times of any desired key or to accompany such times played by other instruments.

The keyboards A B are arranged on opposite sides ot the bellows E precisely in the same manner asin accordions of the ordinary construction.

I have given to my instrument the name ot' orchestreom because by the improvements hcreinbet'ore described I am enabled to accompany the orchestra iu theaters and concerts, whereas with the ordinary accordion I have been unable to accede to the request of the leaders ot' such orchestras, because the construction ot such instruments rendered it impossible to follow tunes written in any other key than that represented by the instrument.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a portable bellows operated by both hands, of keyboards A B and corresponding reeds, representing two or more chromatic scales, substantially in the manner and for the purpose specified.

2. The arrangement of the keys C C and D D', substantially as herein shown and described, so that the keys Cf represent the octaves of the keys C and the keys D the octaves of the keys D.

ERNST PRIES.

Witnesses:

J. W. CooMBs, M. M. LIVINGSTON. 

